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Policies, bills and other government activities that will affect renewable energy and/or your business.

ARRA August 2010

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) investments are expected to result in grid parity for solar by 2015 according to recent analysis by the office of the vice president.

The cost of power from rooftop solar panels is expected to drop from $0.21/kWh in 2009 to $0.10/kWh in 2015, which is equivalent to current household electricity rate in many areas. The cost of power from utility-size solar projects will drop by $0.07c kWh ($0.13/kWh today to $0.06/kWh) by 2015, which is equivalent to the cost of wholesale utility power. In the longer term, the cost of rooftop solar power could drop to as low as $0.06/kWh by 2030.When consumers can produce power at the same cost as utilities, this will signal a significant shift in power.

The analysis highlights four areas including

1. Modernizing transportation, including advanced vehicle technology and high-speed rail;
2. Jumpstarting the renewable energy sector through wind and solar energy;
3. Building a platform for private sector innovation through investments in broadband, Smart Grid, and health information technology; and
4. Investing in groundbreaking medical research.

The full report is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/Recovery_Act_Innovation.pdf

CA sues Fannie and Freddie for PACE blockade.

California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. has filed a lawsuit against government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for their actions taken against property-assessed clean energy finance (PACE) programs in the U.S.

"As the nation struggles through the worst recession in modern times, California is taking action in federal court to stop the regulatory strangulation of the state's grass-roots program that is spreading across the country," said Brown.

The PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program stimulates the economy and promotes energy independence by assisting homeowners and small businesses in securing funding to make their properties more energy efficient. Property owners repay the costs of energy improvements through assessments spread out over a decade or more. Under California law, these costs are classified as tax assessments.

Ignoring California law, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have effectively shut down the program by wrongly characterizing PACE assessments as loans that must be subordinate to their own mortgages. The Federal Housing Finance Agency affirmed Fannie and Freddie's decision on July 6 over the objections of Attorney General Brown and congressional leaders.

Letter to Obama

PACE complaint

UPDATE:- You can take action - Visit the vote solar initiative and make your mark.

School / State rebates temporarily suspended in California

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has stunned public officials and the solar industry by suspending lucrative rebates to school districts, cities and other government agencies that install solar panels on public buildings.

The ruling, which also affects nonprofit groups, was disclosed late Friday and was reverberating through the state this week. Commission officials said the suspension is temporary while the agency decides how to deal with its rapidly depleting solar budget, but some public officials said the delay could scuttle plans to install panels.

The CPUC is not addressing the stakeholders expectations in this decision.

Renewable Energy Legislation

PACE - Catching on but threat emerging.

PACE is experiencing difficulties from some lenders including FHFA.

PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) is a local government finance tool, which is designed to reduce consumers up front cost for solar. The way it works is that property owners finance the systems through their local government. The local government provides the finance as additional property-tax assesment over a 15-20 year period. Finance is aquired through the issue of municipal bonds.

PACE is facing strong headwinds from Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) which says PACE represents significant financial safety and soundness concerns that must be addressed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks, before PACE is allowed on properties financed by them.

The specific problem is that PACE loans are city tax system based loans, and as such these loans aquire a priority position above other loans. This priority ranking presents a problem because if payments on the PACE loan are not be made, the city can foreclose and sell the property for the minimum amount needed to settle the PACE loan and any tax liabilities, leaving any FHFA liabilities uncovered.

The FHFA urged state and local governments to reconsider these programs and continues to call for a pause in such programs so concerns can be addressed. First liens for such loans represent a key alteration of traditional mortgage lending practice. They present significant risk to lenders and secondary market entities, may alter valuations for mortgage-backed securities and are not essential for successful programs to spur energy conservation.

Federal funds have been made available to initiate PACE programs with over $100 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment act. A bill is being introduced (H.R. 3836) which will provide 100% loan guarantees for PACE bond programs.

Some states have chosen not to adopt priority positions for their PACE loans.

Financing remains the key issue for widespread solar acceptance. Once this hurdle is overcome, through reduced costs or increased low cost financing, the market should start to show strong growth.

UPDATE:- You can take action - Visit the vote solar initiative and make your mark.

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